Alex Mack is determined to explore free agency despite being hit with the transition tag by the Browns.
Mack, in an interview with USA Today on March 6, said he likes the direction the Browns are going with new head coach Mike Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, but he also said he is eager to see what else is available when free agency begins March 11. He has made every offensive snap for the Browns since being taken 21st in the first round of the 2009 draft.
“We’ll see what happens,” Mack said. “It’s tough to know. I don’t know how teams feel about me. I still have an opportunity to meet with coaches and experience free agency. That’s the goal.
“I like Cleveland; I know it. I like these new coaches. But there are other opportunities out there. You only get to play this game so long. Let’s see what else is out there.”
Wherever he ends up, Mack will be playing for his fourth head coach and fourth general manager in six years. He’ll be playing for a third owner if he ends up with another team.
“My time in Cleveland was interesting to say the least,” Mack said. “It was never boring. But there is no guarantee anywhere you go. It’s not a given what happens in Cleveland now or for any other team.
“I like where my future is going. Mr. (Jimmy) Haslam, he’s a really good owner. I got a really good feeling about him. He’s a direct person who knows what he wants to do. There’s something to be said of that. It’s now a clean slate.”
Designating Mack their transition player means the Browns have five days to match an offer sheet if Mack agrees to a deal with another team. The Browns receive no compensation if they do not match. If Mack receives no offers and signs his transition tender, he’ll earn $10.039 million and be the highest-paid center in 2014.
“It does put us in a good position,” Mack said. “It’s really good Cleveland likes me and wants me around. It could be nice to play for one year at the transition tag number. Without a doubt, they think highly of me.”
Since no compensation is involved, teams trying to lure Mack have nothing to lose by offering him a contract. From the Browns’ view, they are allowing another team to set a long-term contract for the Pro Bowl center because Mack would have to sign the long-term deal with the Browns if he agrees to one with another team and the Browns match.
Mack has interest in seeing how much interest the Buccaneers and Colts have in him, according to the USA Today story.
Rob Chudzinski, fired after going 4-12 in 2013 in his only year as head coach of the Browns, is a special assistant to Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.
George Warhop, Mack’s offensive line coach with the Browns from 2009-2013, has the same job with the Buccaneers. Plus, his college coach at Cal, Jeff Tedford, is the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator.
“I like Chud and (Browns’ former offensive coordinator Norv) Turner,” Mack said. “I love Warhop. I really liked where Cleveland was going. The firing came as a real surprise.”
An entourage that included Haslam, Pettine, Shanahan and offensive line coach Andy Moeller met with Mack the weekend of March 1 in California.
On March 3 at the Cleveland Auto Show, Pettine gushed about how well the meeting went.
“(We said) ‘Here’s the program,’ ” Pettine said that night. “We didn’t want to lock a guy up to a long-term deal when he didn’t have a good feel for who we were, for who I was, my core beliefs in running a program. If it didn’t marry up to what he was looking for, we would have felt comfortable turning him loose.”
The subject of the transition tag did not come up in the California meeting, but despite being tagged so soon afterward, Mack is still enthused about the Browns’ newest regime.
“I have to be comfortable with that,” Mack said. “It’s their right. I have to weigh that into any potential decision. But I walked away from our meeting with the feeling it was a good meeting. I got to sit down with the new offensive coordinator and line coach. They discussed their scheme, where we’re going and the plans for offense. That went really well.
“I think they liked what they heard from me, or they wouldn’t have tagged me. It was fun to talk to them. Now, we just go from there. It’s nice to possibly play in a system that fits your skill set and sets you up for success. That’s what I got from that meeting. Without a doubt, it’s not a bad thing to return to the Browns.”
Only one other player was given a transition tag this year. The Steelers gave the designation to linebacker Jason Worilds. He already signed his tender of $9.75 million, assuring himself of a big payday in 2014 and another shot at free agency next year. Mack could end up doing the same thing.